The Summer I Turned in a Damn Good Book Revision
On tennis, tossing cares aside, losing time + revisiting that 'Jagged Little Pill'
So, quick book update that might be a tad vague… just trust me when I say this is good news. Deal? Deal.
Remember end of last month when I turned in my book edits after diligently working on them for a solid four weeks? I was proud of myself for putting in the work and happy with how it turned out. Well, my editor just sent her feedback on the revision, and she agrees! She had nothing but high praise. The words “absolutely fantastic” were used. This is cause for celebration!
After hottin’ + hollerin’ about her kind words, I sat down to deal with the smallest tweaks she had noted—like, adding a couple of lines about [redacted]’s thoughts before she [redacted]—then gave the full thing one more read-through + sent it back to my editor for last looks. If there are no other notes or questions from her, it’s on to copyediting + into production. More celebration, friends!
Ooh! The art team also sent me the revised book cover. (Yep, you know it—celebrationnnnnn!). Seeing my name on the cover with the title… man, it’s such a good feeling. The fact that my two cents are being considered with the cover design is a true privilege. Not every publisher comes at this with a collaborative spirit, so I’m grateful. And excited. Can’t wait for the big cover reveal! Soon, soon.
We’re officially EIGHT months away from book release day:
April 21, 2026!
I’ll spare you my usual “how are we already at the end of the month” rant. Plus, as I mentioned last issue, I’m trying to change my perception of time, shake-up the autopilot of it all + track attention instead of time. With that in mind, here’s what held my attention—Read, Watched + Heard—this week:
READ:
Five years ago, I decided to lean hard into hobbies. This resulted in my taking drum lessons, buying a kit + joining a little rock band. One of the best decisions. Truly. In recent years, I’ve kept the hobby trend going, trying to add new pastimes to my roster, including watercolor painting (didn’t stick) + wheel throwing pottery (hard pass). Then late last summer, I decided to finally pursue something I’ve been thinking about for decades: tennis. Started taking lessons with a fabulous coach + the only regret I have is that I didn’t start this sooner.
It’s long lead-up to say that I have been locked in, watching + reading all about US Open tennis this week. I’m even planning on getting tickets to watch the fun live.
Let’s start with this piece in The Atlantic about why tennis is arguably your best choice for a healthy sport. (gift link)
I’m all the way here for the celebration of iconic tennis champion Althea Gibson, who made history when she broke the color barrier in tennis 75 years ago, when she became the first Black player to compete in the US Nationals. Lots of articles like this one from Andscape + this one from BET giving the legend her flowers.
Plenty of stories from the “frontlines” about what to expect from your US Open experience. In a word: chaos.
Beyond tennis, I also read this long profile on author R.F. Kuang in The New Yorker. I read her bestselling 2023 novel, Yellowface, and enjoyed it. Outside of recommending it to folks asking for good reads (Yellowface is being adapted for TV), I’ve also been watching Kuang’s next moves. Her new novel, Katabasis, is out today.
“Whenever I’m getting close to finishing one project, I start daydreaming about something else, so that I can pretty quickly transition,” Kuang told me. “I’m very uncomfortable when I’m not working. If there’s nothing, then I start to panic.” She wrote the first draft of “Yellowface” in the three months before beginning her Ph.D. at Yale, in 2021.” —Hua Hsu, The New Yorker
I can relate to her “on to the next” energy, but Kuang is on another level! Because what do you mean she wrote the first draft before beginning her PhD at Yale?
Speaking of books + TV, there was this lengthy but interesting piece on n+1 magazine about the age old thesis that books are better than TV + whether that’s still the case these days.
“Literature belonged to a higher order of entertainment. A good novel got better, not worse, the harder you paid attention to it. If never wholly insulated from market demands, fiction at least didn’t have to appeal to advertisers or Nielsen ratings. A novel never got anybody elected President.” —Lisa Borst, n+1
The story also gets into the business part of books + TV. This quote was particularly noteworthy:
“Where a talented, fortunate, not-quite-blockbuster writer could once plausibly aspire to a sturdy midlist career, a novelist today who isn’t Sally Rooney or Liane Moriarty is lucky to sell a new book for $60,000 or $75,000 — what the novelist’s agent calls a ‘very nice deal’ but which feels more like ‘very poor compensation’ for all those years of drafting and revision. But that $60,000 advance could turn into six figures if the book is optioned — and if the show miraculously gets made, maybe the writer could end up with a role in the writers’ room, or a credit as a producer. For the besieged contemporary novelist, options beget options — and fiction writers, even the best of them, find themselves pulled ever further screenward.”
OK, I feel like there should be a warning label attached to this story in The New York, “IRL Brain Rot and the Lure of the Labubu,” because there are so many words in it that will not compute. Like me, you may have to read this piece twice, slowly the second time, even tracing some sentences with your finger! Helppp
Because my novel, WOULD I LIE TO YOU?, has some spy elements to it (oooh, she’s dropping hazy hints), I’ve been kind of consuming nearly everything that has to do with that covert world, like this guest essay in the Times, “Would You Believe This Spy’s Name?” by novelist + screenwriter Michael Idov.
Going on vacation feels like a good move toward improving your overall health and wellness, right? Well, now things have gone to the next level in that regard with “health-focused” travel itineraries aimed at prolonging your life.
“Welcome to the world of longevity travel. As more people choose to actively pursue longer, healthier lives, a growing number of travelers are seeking out curated experiences that combine wellness, medical science, health treatments, and community engagement.” —Michael Clinton, Esquire
Maybe the true path to living longer, healthier lives is within this important one four-word phrase: We Do Not Care. I meant to share about Melani Sanders + her very necessary “We Do Not Care” club—celebrating the pivotal stage of peri/menopausal women around the globe—earlier in the summer, but somehow it slipped off the notepad… but you know what? I do not care! This recent callback to the club, “What We Gain When We Stop Caring,” reminded me to bring it up now. Also: It’s not too late to join the revolution!
“There’s a lot that is freeing about getting older, including not giving as much of a damn.” —Anna Holmes, The Atlantic
Outside getting grounded + leaving the “cares” under my feet. (Photo by moi!)
WATCHED:
Normally, I like to bring you fun + curious things I’ve been watching—or at least an impactful YouTube video. This time, a bit of departure. I want to shine my little light on a series that has brought me plenty of joy. And honestly? According to the latest stats* + culture notes, I am not alone in this. Talking about The Summer I Turned Pretty on Prime. It’s so good, though! The series, based on Jenny Han’s young adult romance trilogy, is in its third + final season, with each episode coming out week by week on Wednesdays. Binge-watching be damned.
* “The first two episodes of the third and final season, according to Amazon, drew 25 million viewers, and the series, which now has triple the viewership of the pilot, has become the platform’s top show globally. The analytics firm Luminate reports that viewers are spending more time with it than they did with prior seasons, adding that its main audience is not teenagers but 25- to 54-year-old women.” —The Times
It’s also been fun to see so many fan theories + analyses about the episodes, how they’ve veered from the books + how the whole thing might end. Some of these folks go deep (stretching at times) to connect song choices, color analysis + easter eggs.
I’m getting ready for tomorrow’s new ep! Who else is watching? Also, tell me that you’re Team Conrad. It’s the only way to be.
HEARD:
Something I added to my 2025 Bingo Card was to “lose time” more. Meaning, disconnect + let my mind drift, unconcerned with how long the activity I’m doing might take or any other to-dos waiting on my list.
One of the ways I’m doing this is by picking an album that I haven’t heard in ages + just sitting myself down somewhere cozy + listening to it—no skips.
This week, it was Jagged Little Pill by fellow Canuck, Alanis Morissette. What’s your go-to for no-skips album? Do tell!